Watch the terrifying moment Russian artillery fires on Daily Mail reporters in Ukraine – as they get extraordinary access to front line trenches for exclusive video report
Watch the terrifying moment when Russian artillery fires on Daily Mail reporters in Ukraine – as they gain extraordinary access to frontline trenches for an exclusive video report
Terrifying video shows Daily Mail reporters Richard Pendlebury and Jamie Wiseman coming under Russian artillery and mortar fire while gaining extraordinary access to a Ukrainian frontline.
Their full dramatic report from the eastern frontline is available to view on the Daily Mail’s Youtube Channel .
The video report is followed by Richard’s poignant written account of their experience in tomorrow’s newspaper, MailOnline and Mail+.
British journalists have been given unprecedented and exclusive access to the frontline in this devastating battle to drive the Russian invaders out of Ukraine.
In an extraordinary moment, Richard and Jamie sprint across a field and through trees as mortar shells crash around them.
“We’re barely past the runway when we hear the unmistakable howl of an approaching grenade and I’m on my hands and knees in the mud as it explodes a stone’s throw to our left,” writes Richard.
Most foreign reporters are kept far from the fighting in Ukraine, but Jamie and Richard managed to gain extraordinary access to a trench in the Donbas region.
Watch a sneak peek and the full video on our here Youtube Channel.
Richard Pendlebury is thrown to the ground as Russian mortars crash around them after they leave their trench
Ukrainian Special Forces urge Mail journalists to move on as they come under enemy fire
The terrifying race in a 4×4 with a cracked windshield to flee the Russians across a field in full view of the enemy position
Richard Pendlebury shows what life is like in narrow trenches for Ukrainian troops, sometimes only a few hundred meters from the enemy
Richard and guide Oleh have a cup of tea in their handmade wooden cages in conditions reminiscent of World War I
The pair had to evade a Russian drone as they entered a Ukrainian position before dawn, and witnessed Ukrainian troops fighting over no man’s land with Russians just 400 meters away.
Leaving the trench, they are forced to take cover from the Russian artillery as they cross open ground.
Richard and Jamie show the grim reality of the battle for the Dombas region, where Ukrainian soldiers fight from narrow trenches and sleep in beds made of trees in conditions reminiscent of World War I.
They also experience the mortal danger of leaving their trench as Russian troops fire mortars at the Mail journalists and their guide Oleh, who repeatedly warns them to keep quiet to avoid being heard by enemy drones.
Describing life in the trenches, Richard writes, “We step out of 21st century warfare into what appears to be a scene from the Western Front, circa 1916. When first light comes and hostilities resume in thunderous earnest, we shall find that sheltering in, or, rather, leaving the trench in daylight, is much more dangerous than this most inconvenient arrival.”
Later in ‘treacherous daylight’, they are forced to go at top speed in a 4×4 after getting too close to the Russians before dawn.
Richard writes, “In the dark, Oleh had driven too far—past the field we had to cross on foot last night. Now we have to drive back across the same field in broad daylight, under the eyes of the Russians. Oleh drives like crazy. Mortar bombs now land close enough to hear over the engine’s screams. We buck and scrape down the hill that had beaten us in the rain. Luck is with us. We make the hedge intact and now even crossing the dangerous bridge feels like coming to safety’.